


Fortune Favors the Bold

by tomoten



Series: Pomegranate Wine [1]
Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, no thoughts just farm game.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-21
Updated: 2021-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-27 23:41:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30130686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tomoten/pseuds/tomoten
Summary: “Though, I suppose it’s all part of the same…” Harvey waved his hands. “Big picture. I find myself getting lost in the fine details of things.”“Oh?” Elliott hummed, “What details are you lost in right now?”“Well, you looked a bit sad.”
Relationships: Elliott/Harvey (Stardew Valley)
Series: Pomegranate Wine [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2217519
Comments: 3
Kudos: 22





	Fortune Favors the Bold

**Author's Note:**

> listen i know sdv only has 4 months to a year but that stresses me out so calendar year implied vaguely OKAY

The moonlight jellies’ migration was always a sight to behold. There was a reason everyone in town made their way to the beach every year to watch such a wondrous sight. 

But it all left Elliott feeling a little...melancholy.

He loved the ocean, but he supposed that much was obvious. He cared deeply for nature and the beauty of the world around him.

So for there to be a celebration of the ocean on a day like this, only for it to be polluted and full of waste every other day of the year made his stomach churn. How did nobody else seem to care that these jellies wouldn’t exist if everyone kept on as they were?

He stood on the dock, staring out into the vast ocean, contemplating those thoughts, when someone appeared behind him.

“It’s really interesting. The delicate balance of ocean life. Just the slightest shift in temperature up here sends the jellies migrating thousands of miles away. Like clockwork every year.”

“Quite.” Elliott frowned, glancing over his shoulder to see Harvey, sporting a similar forlorn gaze. “Do you like the ocean, good doctor?”

“I do. But sand always stops me from coming here.” He laughed, “Though, I suppose it’s all part of the same…” Harvey waved his hands. “Big picture. I find myself getting lost in the fine details of things.”

“Oh?” Elliott hummed, “What details are you lost in right now?”

“Well, you looked a bit sad.” Harvey commented, which was enough for Elliott to turn to him in shock. “Everyone is happy and excited to see the jellies. But your jaw was clenched. That’s not good for oral health, you know. And your posture--which is usually perfect, I should say--it’s...tense. You’ve tightened up. But you’re not angry, at least, the look on your face betrays that.”

“You’re quite observant,” Elliott hummed, taking a seat on the dock, and letting his legs hang off the edge, reaching over to pat the spot next to him. Harvey scurried over, sitting with much less grace than the younger man. “This event always leaves me feeling morose.” 

“Why’s that?”

Elliott gave a halfhearted shrug, pursing his lips for a long moment before continuing. “The oceans are full of waste. I pick up trash from these shores daily. You cannot go fishing on these very docks without pulling up...old cola cans, or broken spectacles, newspapers, compact discs, the whole lot of it. And that is killing the life beneath the surface. These jellies we, as a community, come to celebrate each year, are dwindling in numbers exponentially. And if we don’t do anything, there won’t _be_ a migration to gawk at. And nobody seems to care.”

Harvey kicked his feet as he nodded, folding his hands in his lap, and letting out a small sigh.

“We all want to change the world.” He said gently. “I think that was part of the reason I became a doctor, you know? Impact I could see. Something I could do to really make a difference in people’s lives. But I realized…” 

Harvey took a long pause, rubbing his hands together nervously.

“Most of the time, it’s not up to the doctor to save a life. Sure, in those dramatic moments, when someone is brought in bleeding out, or something tragic like that, that might be...something of merit, or what have you. But day to day? I can give an old man blood pressure medication. I can tell him to eat better. I can tell people these things but the difference doesn’t come from _me_ . The difference is on them. Each person has their own personal impact on themselves and on _their_ world, and ultimately, that’s what changes things. Right?”

Elliott nodded, sighing softly. “But the--”

“Alone, you can’t save the jellies. I don’t think anyone can.” Harvey said, “But to say that nobody cares eliminates you from the equation. _You_ care. You care a great deal. You clean up the beach, you pull garbage out of the ocean, you are doing what you can. You are making your world a nicer place. Which by extension, changes everyone’s world.”

Harvey pushed his glasses further up his nose, shrugging slightly.

“I’m sorry if that wasn’t very comforting.”

“No, it was.” Elliott said slowly. “I only wish my care would lead others to care, as well.”

“Well, now I care.” Harvey hummed. “So, your care worked on me. And maybe we can do something. I don’t know. Make a pamphlet to put in the clinic. A biodegradable one.”

Elliott smiled, going quiet for a long moment, before gently grabbing Harvey’s arm. “Do you like wine, perchance, good doctor?”

“I...I do. Love the stuff.” Harvey said, his eyes locked on Elliott’s hand.

“Splendid. Just a moment. My cabin’s right here.” Elliott stood, scurrying off the dock, and rushing into his cabin. A few minutes later, Elliott returned with a freshly opened bottle, and two glasses. “The farmer gave this to me the other day. I’ve been waiting for the right chance to open it. And someone to share it with.” He poured them each a glass, handing one to Harvey.

They sat there, sipping wine, and chatting, while the jellies began their migration. Sometime after midnight, everyone had cleared off the beach, leaving just the two of them, slightly buzzed, and talking in hushed voices. 

“It’s late.” Harvey commented, checking his watch as he downed the rest of his wine. “And tomorrow’s Monday, so I’ll need to open up the clinic. So, I sh--”

Harvey was cut off by Elliott’s lips on his, his wine glass slipping from his hand and clattering onto the dock as his hands hovered in the air, his brain scrambling to make sense of things as he kissed Elliott back, staring in awe as Elliott pulled away, a light blush covering his cheeks.

“I’m sorry if that was forward of me. I’m usually not so bold…” Elliott trailed off, as Harvey cleared his throat.

“Uh. Um. Well--for...fortune favors the bold, right?” 

“Indeed it does.” Elliott hummed, looking back out toward the ocean, where the last of the moonlight jellies’ lights were still shining on the horizon. “Thank you for tonight, doctor.”

“I think--” Harvey laughed, feeling hot under his collar. “I think we’re at the point where you can call me Harvey.”

“I suppose.” Elliott laughed, nodding as he sipped the last of his wine. “Well. Thank you, Harvey.”

* * *

The next morning, Harvey came down the stairs from his apartment, humming quietly to himself as he opened up the clinic for the day, sitting at the front desk, and searching for the files for the appointments he had that week.

Once everything was sorted, he got up, leaving the clinic to go for a short walk through the town, but something caught his eye as he was returning to the clinic.

The calendar at Pierre’s shop.

He checked it just about every time he passed, trying to commit the birthdays of everyone to memory, though he was never very good with dates. Which was why he shouldn’t have been completely shocked when he saw Elliott’s name written under the 5th of this month.

“Good afternoon, good doctor.”

Harvey jumped at the voice, turning around suddenly, and letting out a small laugh as he realized the man occupying his thoughts was standing in front of him.

“Elliott. Hi. I said you could--”

“ _Harvey_. Right. Terribly sorry. That will take some getting used to.” He hummed, tilting his head. “What are you up to this fine day?”

“Well, uh, I just saw--” Harvey turned and pointed to the calendar. “Your birthday is on Friday.”

“Huh.” Elliott hummed, as if this was the first time he was hearing this, looking over at the calendar. “So it is.” 

“Were you--did you...have plans?”

Elliott shook his head. “On Fridays I typically go to the saloon with Leah, so I suppose I will be there. But nothing particularly special, no.” 

Harvey shifted nervously, scratching the back of his head. “Would you mind if I...bought you a round, at least?”

Elliott beamed, and Harvey had to loosen his tie slightly as he suddenly started feeling warm. “I would very much appreciate that, thank you, Harvey.”

Harvey nodded, glancing down at his watch, then looking back up at Elliott. “Would you...like to come inside?” He gestured toward the clinic. “I mean--to my apartment. It’s upstairs. We could--I could get us some food from the saloon, maybe. You said…” He fidgeted with the hem of his coat. “Well, you like their crab cakes, right? Gus is running some kind of special on them right now.”

“I’d love to.”

So they ended up in Harvey’s apartment, their empty takeout containers on the coffee table, while they sat much-too-close to each other considering Harvey’s two decently sized couches. 

Not that either of them were complaining.

Still, Harvey couldn’t help the way his heart raced every time Elliott rested a hand on him, or leaned in a little too close while explaining something with so much excitement and passion that he had the older man hanging onto his every word.

“You’re fascinating.” Harvey finally said, and Elliott laughed, waving him off, but Harvey couldn’t help but notice the light blush that dusted his cheeks. “Really, you are.”

Elliott swallowed, gaze shifting from Harvey’s eyes, down to his lips, and back to his eyes. “Thank you.” He smiled, “So are you. I feel as though a lot of people in this town have underestimated you.”

It was Harvey’s turn to look surprised, as Elliott reached forward to take his hands.

“I suppose I’ve been thinking about it since last night. How you said I appeared to be sad. I realized that you carry your own sadness, as well, yet you’re filled with such an innate kindness all the same. I admire that dearly, Harvey.”

There was a beat of silence, and Harvey stared down at their hands, a small huff escaping him as he tried to come up with something poetic or inspiring or...well, just _something_ to say.

“I...don’t know if living with sadness is admirable on its own.” He admitted. “Everyone has sadness, I think. Some more than others. But the important part is what we do with it.”

“And what do you do with yours?”

Harvey hesitated. 

“I don’t know.” He said quietly, eyes now fixated on their hands. “I’m at peace with who I am. I’ve resigned myself to being this person forever.”

“But is this not who you want to be?”

“Yes and no.” Harvey told him, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down and hopefully stop his hands from sweating. “I...love my job. I love this town. But seeing the farmer move in and fall in love so quickly and Maru talking about her plans for the future and everything, it all makes me feel so…”

“Lonely?”

“...Yeah.”

“There is nothing wrong with desiring companionship. I believe we all crave it in some form or another. Sometimes we don’t even realize we’re looking for it. Other times we don’t notice it, even when it’s right in front of us.”

Harvey looked back up at Elliott.

“Was that a--are you flirting with me?”

“Oh, terribly sorry, was _kissing you_ not telling enough?”

“No--I--well--it was just...I didn’t want to assume anything, especially because you were so upset and I thought it was just you being ki--”

Elliott was kissing him again.

And this time, Harvey kissed back immediately, his hands finding their way to Elliott’s face as the younger man pushed closer and closer until he was sitting in Harvey’s lap, wrapping his arms around the doctor’s neck.

As they pulled away, Harvey readjusted his glasses, which had been knocked askew, staring in disbelief at Elliott, who hummed, brushing a lock of hair out of his face.

“Do you believe me _now_?” 

* * *

By the time Friday rolled around, Harvey and Elliott had spent more evenings together than not--usually starting with dinner and ending with the two of them kissing for long periods of time on Harvey’s couch, until it got very late, and Elliott went back to his cabin, which Harvey would always offer to walk him home to, but Elliott would decline. 

“You don’t like sand, remember?” Elliott would tease.

_I’d tolerate a lot more than sand for you._

Of course, Harvey was never so brave.

Friday afternoon, sometime past 7pm, Harvey stepped into the saloon after closing up the clinic for the day, Elliott and Leah were already sitting at their usual table in the far corner, drinking and chatting casually. Harvey ordered himself a drink, and then walked over to Elliott and Leah, smiling at the way Elliott’s face lit up when he saw him, kicking out the stool next to him for Harvey to sit on.

“Hi. Hello. Happy birthday.” Harvey said as he sat down. “Sorry. Always takes me longer to close up when it’s just me.”

“I’m just thrilled you’re here at all, dear.” Elliott held up his glass. “A toast, hm?”

“To you.” Harvey said, tipping his glass toward Elliott’s and Leah’s. “May you be happy and healthy for the rest of your years.”

“To getting older.” Elliott laughed.

They drank together for most of the night--with Harvey, followed by a few other patrons of the bar, buying Elliott drinks for his birthday, and by the time they were all ready to head out, Elliott was tripping over himself.

“I can get him home.” Harvey promised Leah, who hesitated for a moment, but seemed content to leave Elliott in the hands of the town doctor. “Come on, Elliott.”

“I don’t want to go home.” Elliott whined as they stepped out of the saloon. “I want to go with you.”

“What? Back to my apartment?”

“Yes!” Elliott jumped, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “ _Please_? It’s my birthday.”

The birthday boy in question pouted, and, _oh_ , was Harvey in trouble.

“I...guess it would make sense to have someone keep an eye on you.” Harvey started, wrapping an arm around Elliott, and guiding him back to the clinic.

Once inside, Elliott wrapped his arms around Harvey, leaning in to nuzzle against his neck.

“You’re quite handsome, Harvey. Your allure is...enchanting…” He hesitated, as if mentally calculating what next to say, as Harvey laughed.

“Thank you.” He said, pulling Elliott further inside, but freezing in place as he felt a pair of lips on his neck. “Ah, Elliott--”

“Hm?” Elliott lifted his head, eyelashes fluttering, as his hand reached up to tug at Harvey’s tie. “Something the matter, good doctor?”

Harvey hesitated, but that seemed to be enough for Elliott, who nodded, patting his chest as he pulled back.

“I understand. No worries.”

“I’m just not entirely sure if you’re sober enough for this.”

“I’ve had _quite_ a bit.” Elliott agreed. “And while I can assure you that I wouldn’t regret _a thing_ to do with you, I…” He hiccuped, “I understand the hesitance of the matter. So…”

“Let me get you some water.”

When Elliott awoke the next morning, he realized a few things, in order.

  1. His head was pounding.
  2. He was not in his own bed.
  3. Despite knowing whose bed it was, he found he was _alone_ in said bed.



Once he took in his surroundings, though, he also found a glass of water and two pills resting on the nightstand.

He took them, climbing out of bed, and looking around the room, when his gaze landed on a figure curled up on the couch.

How Elliott’s heart melted at the sight.

Doctor Harvey, asleep on the couch, his glasses about to fall off his face, an open book resting on his chest.

Elliott tiptoed over, pulling the glasses off of Harvey’s face, and placing them and the book on the coffee table. He grabbed the blanket off the bed, pulling it over Harvey’s body, and gently tucking him in.

Brushing the hair out of Harvey’s face, Elliott leaned down, pressing a kiss to his forehead, before pulling himself up, and making his way to the kitchen.

Harvey had nothing in his fridge.

Well, nothing that Elliott could cook, at least. And frozen waffles and cereal didn’t seem _quite_ as romantic.

But Harvey didn’t have a stove.

And neither did Elliott, now that he thought about it.

Harvey had instant coffee, at least.

And...maybe with a quick trip to Pierre’s, he could manage some kind of fruit salad. With yogurt, even?

After he had gotten everything he needed, he made quick work of slicing up fruit, arranging it neatly in a bowl, his attention only pulled away when he heard some shuffling coming from the other side of the room.

“Oh! Good morning. Sorry, I was hoping to have this all finished by the time you had risen, but I needed to run to the shop to grab a few things, so…” Elliott picked up the instant coffee he had made, handing it to Harvey. “I wasn’t sure how you take it.”

“Black is fine, thank you.” Harvey mumbled sleepily, taking a small sip, and burning his tongue in the process. “Are you feeling alright?”

“I had a dreadful headache when I awoke this morning, but the painkillers certainly took care of that, thank you.” Elliott hummed, “My philosophy with hangovers has always been to face the day regardless, I suppose.”

“I can’t drink too much anymore. Takes me all day to get out of that. Part of getting old, I think.”

Elliott rolled his eyes, placing the last of the fruit into the bowl, before nodding toward the table. “You, old? I don’t believe that.”

“I’ll be…” Harvey hesitated, as if trying to mentally calculate his own age. “Thirty...five this winter.”

“I’m thirty-three as of...yesterday.” Elliott hummed, placing the bowl on the table, and gesturing for Harvey to sit. “Bon appetit.”

Harvey sat down, looking over at Elliott, as if trying to commit every tiny detail of his face to memory, before taking a long sip of his coffee. “You’re youthful, though. You’ve got...a zest for life, and all that. I think anyone would stay young with you around.”

“Suppose that's an incentive to keep me around, then.”

“I don’t need an incentive.”

Oh. Wait. He said that _out loud_ this time.

Elliott sat down, pulling his chair closer to Harvey’s, folding his arms on the table, and resting his chin on them. “How do you mean?”

“I mean,” Harvey took a bite of the food in front of him, before offering some to Elliott, who accepted it with a small hum, “I like having you around. I like...being with you. I think you’re kind and thoughtful and I...really admire a lot of things about you. So…”

Elliott tilted his head, watching as Harvey’s nerves caught up with him, letting out a small giggle as he shrugged. “You don’t find me foolish after my unrefined display last night? Which I am terribly sorry for, I might add.”

“No, no...I think...well, you weren’t wrong, I guess.” Harvey spoke slowly, eyes trained to the bowl in front of him. “If you hadn’t had as much to drink, I’m sure we would’ve…” His face turned red. “Well, if you wanted to, of course. I was under the impression that we were--not that I was, you know, counting on it, or anything, I just was, you know, based on how things have been going, I...” He waved his hand, trying to make sense of his own ramblings. “It...was not a wrongful assumption to make, because I would’ve said yes. Had the alcohol not been involved.”

Elliott felt his cheeks warming up, but he nodded, squirming slightly in his seat, before reaching forward to grab Harvey’s arm, mentally noting the way the doctor’s breath caught for just a moment. “You don’t open the clinic on Saturdays, do you?”

“Not typically, no.”

“Would you, perchance, care to spend the day together?”

And so they spent the day together--and many subsequent Saturdays together--along with a few Sundays and weekdays, as well. So much so that they both found themselves telling time based on when they could see each other again.

Late one night, as they both laid in bed, the sheet covering _just_ what needed to be covered, Harvey told Elliott about his model planes, about his old dream of becoming a pilot, and how his eyesight and fear of heights kept him from that, but how he had found happiness here, in spite of it all. Elliott told Harvey about his mundane life back in his hometown--how he moved here to pursue his dream of becoming a writer, even if nobody had believed in him. 

“I believe in you.” Harvey had mumbled as he held Elliott’s hand in his, kissing at his fingertips.

Elliott couldn’t have kissed the doctor faster.

Slowly, the days together turned into weeks, and then months, and soon enough, the last few leaves had fallen off the trees, and snow began to fall.

And _kept_ falling.

Maru questioned him before an appointment one morning.

“Doctor Harvey, are you seeing anyone?”

Harvey choked on his coffee. Had he not told Maru? Come to think of it, had he not told _anyone_?

He had assumed everyone had to know. Why wouldn’t they know? Sure, they weren’t entirely _affectionate_ in public settings, but nobody in town really was. The rumor mill seemed to just churn on whether or not they wanted it to.

Did Harvey want it to?

“Harvey?”

“Huh? What’d you say? Sorry. I was daydreaming. About the circulatory system.” He lied, as she raised an eyebrow. “It’s a common doctor problem.”

“Right…” She said slowly. “I was asking if you were seeing anyone.”

“Oh? Why are you asking?” Harvey cleared his throat, trying to seem as nonchalant as possible.

“Your birthday’s coming up, and you usually spend it alone, or at the saloon, or working.” Maru commented. “Maybe if we set you up with somebody, you could go out. Do something. Have fun.”

“I appreciate the gesture, Maru, but I’ve got plans for my birthday.”

“You _do?_ ” Maru asked, before shaking her head. “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to sound so shocked. What are you doing?”

Harvey shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“How do you have plans if you don’t kn--”

“I’ve been told it’s a surprise.” Harvey grinned, spinning around in his chair, and turning his attention toward the computer.

“Wait, what? Who told you that? Harvey!”

Elliott sat at his piano, humming softly along to a tune he had been trying to learn, startling when the door to his cabin slammed open, and in stomped a shivering figure.

“Darling! What are you doing? Out in the snow like that.” Elliott scrambled to Harvey, who had a bit of a struggle pulling the door closed against the wind, “Look at you, even your mustache is frozen.” He laughed, helping Harvey peel off his jacket, “What are you doing here? I assumed I’d see you at the saloon tomorrow.”

“Oh. Uh, I got you a pomegranate.” Harvey offered, holding the fruit out to Elliott, who hummed, intrigued as he plucked it from Harvey’s hand.

“And out of season too, how kind of you.” Elliott reached up to pinch Harvey’s cheek, before pulling the duvet off the bed, and wrapping it around Harvey’s shoulders. “Come, take your shoes off. Poor thing.”

“The, uh, the farmer has a greenhouse, now. Year round produce, apparently.” Harvey said as he pulled his boots off, and wrapped the duvet around his shoulders.

“Fancy.” Elliott hummed, as he grabbed a knife and cut into the pomegranate. “And while I’m grateful, somehow I doubt you made your way all the way to me just for a fruit delivery.”

“Wasn’t so bad. Maru walks further for work everyday.” He mumbled, though his teeth were still chattering. “But, Maru--speaking of Maru--she asked me something today and I got a bit in my head about it.”

“And what, pray tell, was that, dear?”

“Are we…” Harvey hesitated. “Together?”

Elliott rolled his eyes, and started to pull his hair back.

“If you require a reminder--”

“No! I mean, sure, later, maybe, but I mean. I know we’re…” He gestured between the two of them. “But I haven’t told anyone. Mainly for lack of people _to_ tell. And apparently people don’t...know? I had always assumed in a town like this people would figure it out on their own. So I wasn’t sure if it was--if that was what we were doing. And I didn’t want to go blurting it out if that was...if we didn’t want that.”

Elliott shrugged, turning back to chopping his pomegranate.

“Leah knows.”

“Right. Leah knows.”

“And I imagine Maru will soon enough, if you haven’t told her already.”

“I vaguely mentioned someone but I didn’t say who.”

“Oh, then Maru knows.”

“How do you know that?”

“You don’t have any friends, darling.”

“I have--”

“Maru? Yes, love, but I think she’d know if you were dating her.”

“Still. She won’t tell anyone, so it’s still--”

Elliott looked back at Harvey, tilting his head.

“Do you like me, Harvey?”

“Very much so, yes.” Harvey responded without a beat of hesitation.

“Then what does it matter?”

“What?”

“What does it matter? Who we tell. Who we don’t tell. I’m content to have _you_ . To be with _you_ . I’ve no care for how everyone else in this town should feel. I’m happy to have had this time with you. To get to know you--the _real_ you--without prying eyes and whispers. But now I am...” He shrugged. “I’m happy, darling. I’m _so_ happy. And I’m secure in this, in what we have. I don’t require external validation. I’d yell it from the rooftops, if you would like, but I’m also perfectly content to keep you all to myself.”

Harvey found he had stopped shivering as his racing heart warmed him right up.

“You’re amazing.”

Elliott laughed, popping a few pomegranate seeds into his mouth.

“I know.”

* * *

On Harvey’s birthday, Elliott made use of Leah’s fireplace (Why did half this town not have stoves?) and brought dinner over to Harvey’s, complete with wine and something sweet for dessert.

“I know, I know, _dreadfully_ unhealthy of me.” Elliott rolled his eyes as he set the cake (which he purchased from the Saloon, because there was no _possible_ way he could manage a cake on his own) on Harvey’s table. “I know, I _know_ , we’re old, I know, think of our heart health, Harvey, but it’s your birthday, darling, and if we do not indulge ourselves every now and then, then what is the point in living, hm? So we will have a slice of cake. Yoba knows it’s probably just as healthy as those convenience foods you seem to adore.” 

Harvey let out a dramatic sigh, but nodded. “I will make this sacrifice for you.” He promised. 

“What a brave man.” Elliott laughed, serving two plates, and pouring them each a glass of wine. “Shall we?”

“Let’s.”

They ate, and chatted, and as the meal drew to a close, Harvey noticed Elliott seemed nervous.

“What’s wrong?”

“I was wondering if I might give you your present now?” Elliott asked. “It’s a bit...forgive me, I don’t have the money to get you something extravagant like you deserve.” 

“Was the dinner not the present?” Harvey laughed, then shook his head. “Whatever you have is probably wonderful.”

Elliott hesitated, and then stood, scurrying over to this messenger bag, which he had sitting on the couch. He dug through it, before pulling out a stack of papers, and quickly giving them to Harvey.

“It’s the first few chapters of my new novel.” Elliott said, tapping the cover page. “It’s for you.”

Harvey stared at the cover, furrowing his eyebrows, and looking back at Elliott as he pulled open the first page. “Can I-?”

“ _Please_.”

They sat in silence as Harvey read, and Elliott watched his face closely, trying to read his reactions to ease the anxiety building in his stomach.

When Harvey finished, he set the papers on the table, resting his forehead on them for a moment, before he picked himself back up, and walked over to Elliott.

“Terribly sorry, if that was an overstep. I was simply inspired, but if you despise it, I won’t pursue it an--”

Harvey pulled Elliott into a tight hug, one that lifted him off the ground for just a moment before Harvey’s knees rejected the notion and he was set back down. Still, Elliott was held there, Harvey’s hand sliding to the back of his head as his fingers toyed absentmindedly with his hair.

As the doctor pulled back, Elliott realized the shine in Harvey’s eyes were tears--and so did Harvey, evidently, because he immediately started wiping at his eyes as he shook his head.

“It’s perfect. It’s wonderful. I love--”

A beat, and then.

“It. I love it. Really. I do.” Harvey said, tapping at the title on the cover page.

_Skyward M.D: Adventures of Pilot-in-Command Dr. H_

Elliott beamed, reaching out to grab Harvey’s hands. “You endlessly fascinate me. I thought you might as well fascinate...the world as well.”

Harvey pulled Elliott into a sweet kiss, one that had the younger man’s heart fluttering.

Must be all the sugar. The cake. Definitely the cake. No wonder Harvey had warned him against the cake.

But as he pulled away, Elliott let out a small hum, his eyes still shut for a moment after.

“Sappho had a nice phrase for that.” Elliott whispered. “ Something along the lines of, _‘It puts the heart in my chest on wings,’_ ”

Harvey’s hands found their way around Elliott’s waist, while Elliott’s arms wrapped around his neck.

Elliott was the first to start swaying.

“I don’t know how to dance.” Harvey mumbled. “No rhythm.”

“There’s no music.” Elliott hummed, resting his head on Harvey’s shoulder. “No rhythm to follow.”

“I could turn on some music.”

“Ah, jazz, the sound of love.”

“It can be pretty romantic.”

“ _Shh_.” Elliott slid one hand to Harvey’s chest, tapping a gentle beat for them to follow.

It was only when the heat had risen to Harvey’s ears that he realized the beat Elliott was following was coming from his heart.

They had both lost track of time, and it was only when Harvey broke them apart to tilt Elliott’s head up and kiss him, that they both realized just how late it was.

“Happy birthday, Harvey.” Elliott whispered as he pulled back, and Harvey frowned.

“You’re not leaving, are you?”

“Oh, darling. Of course not.” Elliott teased. “We’re just getting started.”

**Author's Note:**

> idk if they have a ship name but i'm calling them pomegranate wine.
> 
> i wrote this very quickly and am going to go write something else for Them now thanks for your time folks.
> 
> uhh @tomotens on twitter ig.


End file.
